The Telegraph My details My newsletters Logout Upgrade to Premium My details My newsletters Logout The Telegraph 'Care-bots' for the elderly are dangerous, warns artificial intelligence professor 30 May 2016 • 10:00pm Computer companions for elderly people are ‘emotionally dangerous’ and will never be good enough to take the place of real human contact, an artificial intelligence expert has warned. In December the University of Singapore introduced ‘Nadine’ the world’s most lifelike robot whose creators say will eventually provide childcare and offer friendship to lonely pensioners. -- In Japan cyber-pets such as the robotic seal Paro and dog AIBO were popular until Sony discontinued them. Many scientists have warned that advances in artificial intelligence mean we are heading for a time when computer ‘thinking’ passes that of humans, a threshold dubbed the ‘technological singularity. ” However Prof Boden said it was unlikely that technology would ever succeed in matching the complexity of the human brain. -- ” Follow the Telegraph READ MORE ABOUT: If you would like to add a comment, please register or log in Register Log in Please review our commenting policy Follow the Telegraph Science latest serpentine lake at Clumber Park 07 Jan 2018, 12:01am National Trust sends heartfelt letter to fracking company asking it to abandon Clumber Park survey plans 06 Jan 2018, 9:30pm How 'wi-fi' connects human brains and explains why people have 'gut feelings' 06 Jan 2018, 3:13pm Families put at risk because NHS is refusing to test for deadly 'Angelina Jolie gene', report claims scientists have found 05 Jan 2018, 2:32pm Hole in ozone layer has shrunk thanks to worldwide ban of CFCs, Nasa confirms 05 Jan 2018, 1:38pm CSI effect is a myth: forensic detective series do not make criminals better at crime exercise 04 Jan 2018, 10:00pm How 30 minutes of facial exercise a day can make women look three years younger 04 Jan 2018, 6:26pm Could this 4,000 year ancient monument be Yorkshire's first sauna? 04 Jan 2018, 12:01am NHS must offer transgender men egg storage so they can be parents, says British Fertility Society guidance trigger cancer 03 Jan 2018, 6:00pm Drinking alcohol raises risk of cancer by snapping DNA, scientists find disease 03 Jan 2018, 12:58am Artificial intelligence 'to diagnose heart disease' 03 Jan 2018, 12:39am Obsession with physical perfection rises by more than a third among young people 03 Jan 2018, 12:01am Sir David Attenborough: I'll give up filming when I can't climb the stairs How the UK will see the moon in 2018 02 Jan 2018, 12:47pm Complete list of every full moon in 2018, including January's Wolf supermoon 31 Dec 2017, 10:58pm Egyptian mummy can 'live forever' after development in scanning technique 31 Dec 2017, 2:42pm Night sky – January 2018: Once in a Blue Moon 31 Dec 2017, 7:00am Silicon Valley's 'fasting' chemical drinks diet may soon arrive in Britain Premium 30 Dec 2017, 12:01am Lost Roman roads could be found as Environment Agency laser scans whole of England from air unassisted 29 Dec 2017, 4:57pm British Polar explorer Ben Saunders echoes Shackleton as he abandons quest to cross South Pole unassisted burning patch with Asst Prof Xu Chenjie 29 Dec 2017, 2:53pm Tiny tummy patch could cut fat by one third in four weeks. .